Not the only way of raising income

SOME weeks ago, when a group of us were attending a memorial service at Plymouth Christian Centre, some of us fell foul to a company called Parking Eye.

These appear to manage Friary Retail Park's car park.

When we parked up, we did not expect the service to be a long one.

As it turned out we overstayed by 10 minutes.

On receipt of a parking notice (not summons), and the demand, we paid the lower amount of £60 as soon as possible.

An appeal was made which was subsequently turned down.

But I was then told I could appeal to something called POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals), an independent appeals service.

Both Parking Eye and POPLA have box numbers, not addresses.

I have now received three pages of instructions with the dos and don'ts, plus quotes on what I should do if I take this case to POPLA.

The main issue I have with this is that despite paying within 14 days as stated for the reduced fee (I say fee not fine), should my appeal fail again, then Parking Eye tells me that I will be liable for the whole fee of £100.

Some may feel that the posted time for parking at Friary Retail is adequate, but what about the unexpected?

So be warned about this retail centre's car park.

It seems to have its own system of dealing with people who park for longer than they should.

They seem to me to have a win, win situation. Is it legal? I don't know, but I am not going to give them another £40. It also came as something of a shock to me to find that the Driving And Vehicle Licensing Agency can sell your details to anyone for a fixed fee. So it would appear the road tax is not the only way of raising income.

Comments

I fell foul of Parking Eye at the now-closed Legacy Hotel (formerly Novotel) last year. I was attending a seminar and apparently I was supposed to log my registration details at reception to show I had legitimate business at the hotel (and wasn't just using it as a free car park). As the seminar was on the first morning after I got back from some leave, I hadn't had the chance to read the email telling me what the system was. To be fair to Parking Eye, I lodged an online appeal (attaching a copy of my invitation to the seminar) and the fee was cancelled, so the appeal process can work if you have a good reason. I guess simply failing to return to your car on time doesn't add up to a good reason - harsh but true.